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Send them to the Hague – now!

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By L. MUTHONI WANYEKI  (email the author)
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Posted  Monday, October 19  2009 at  00:00

And regardless of the form of violence, the intensity, scale and spread of all forms of violence were all worse than that of the 1990s.

We cannot afford to wait and see whether the trajectory will hold true next time.

We must do everything we can to clearly signal now that no violence will be accepted ever again.

And, in this sense, the struggle for accountability is about not just justice for the survivors, but about deterrence for us all.

What are we to do?

It is important to make an example of those believed to hold command responsibility for the three main forms of violence.

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Since both parliament and the Cabinet have refused to move forward on establishing a hybrid tribunal to do so here, this is best done by the International Criminal Court.

Its prosecutor will be here in early November.

Kenyans must insist that the Principals refer the Kenyan situation to the ICC at that time.

We do not want more vague commitments or promises to refer.

We want the actual referral. Failing which, we must do everything we can to ensure the prosecutor takes up the Kenyan situation of his own volition, which he is entitled to do, pending approval of the pre-trial chamber of the ICC.

It will then be important to revisit the option of establishing a hybrid tribunal here, for all other levels of suspected perpetrators.

Finally, we need real dialogue and real action on the dialogue’s outcomes on the ground in all the areas affected by the violence.

Real possibilities for the victims to resume their livelihoods — in small-scale farming, small and medium size businesses and even the professions. Going far beyond the nominal compensation so far distributed.

The Principals must lead. And the first thing they can do to show their leadership is to refer the Kenyan situation to the ICC when its prosecutor is here.

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